theplymothian's Xanga

Genesis 10:1 - 11:26

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:57:09 GMT

What was the deal with the Tower of Babel? In Chicago they have tonnes of skyscrapers and God hasn't come down and destroyed the economy here because of pride, greed, or corruption. No, wait ...

Actually it is quite different. The Tower of Babel is a Ziggurat, a centre for religious worship. Mankind transitions in the story here from having a view of God the is transcendant to building a home and a stairway for God that brings him down to their level. Mankind ceases to be remade in the image of God, but remakes God in the image of man. In many ways we have created a God in our image who satisfies us. Is your God beholden to you, or are you beholden to him?

Genesis 10:1 - 11:26

¹These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

²^(A) The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ³The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴The sons of Javan: Elishah,^(B) Tarshish,^(C) Kittim, and Dodanim. ⁵From these^(D) the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

⁶^(E) The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. ⁷The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. ⁸Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.^[a] ⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." ¹⁰The beginning of his kingdom was^(F) Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in^(G) the land of Shinar. ¹¹From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and ¹²Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. ¹³^(H) Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom^[b] the Philistines came), and^(I) Caphtorim.

¹⁵^(J) Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, ¹⁶and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁷the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. ¹⁹And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. ²⁰These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

²¹To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. ²²The^(K) sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. ²³The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. ²⁴Arpachshad fathered^(L) Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. ²⁵^(M) To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg,^[c] for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹^(N) Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east. ³¹These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

³²These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations,^(O) and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

¹Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ²And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in^(A) the land of Shinar and settled there. ³And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone,^(B) and bitumen for mortar. ⁴Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower^(C) with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." ⁵And^(D) the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. ⁶And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷Come,^(E) let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech." ⁸So^(F) the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. ⁹Therefore its name was called^(G) Babel, because there the LORD confused^[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

¹⁰^(H) These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. ¹¹And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹²When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. ¹³And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. ¹⁵And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. ¹⁷And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. ¹⁹And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. ²¹And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²²When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. ²³And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴When^(I) Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. ²⁵And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶When^(J) Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Questions

Whose accounts are these?
Who grew to be a mighty warrior?
What did people build?
Who is superintending this process?
Do you see God at work in the unfolding of history and current events?

Going Deeper

Observation

What was said about Nimrod?
What towns are mentioned as the borders of the Canaanite clans?
What spread out from these people over the earth after the flood?
What did the people learn to make?
What is God's solution to the Tower of Babel?

Interpretation

Which King of the area of southern Mesopotamia and beyond fits the description of Nimrod?
Why do some of the children mentioned have names associated with nations and places?
How would a common language be helpful?
How do new inventions, like bricks, tend to lead to pride?
Why did the people scatter?

Application

Is there a hero in your life that you want to be like? What great qualities set him/her apart?
Do you know your heritage? Is it important to pass on information about how God has worked in your family?
Is it wrong to have a common language? Should a nation have one language? Should we attempt to be a polyglot?
How has technology led to apostacy and distance from God?
How do churches and religions reinvent God and make him other than he is?

Genesis 9: 1-29

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:26:49 GMT

As I was growing up I wrestled with the death penalty. I thought that it was barbaric and that no Chriistian could rightly support it. I thought that there is really no redemption through killing a person who has killed another. How can viloence be a solution to violence? Isn't killing a person for killing making you just as bad as they are? Couldn't you win a person who is imprisoned for life, but saving someone after you've executed them is a little hard. I see things differently now because I have a concept of punishment that I did not have before. Punishment need not be remedial, it must fit the crime. What do you think?

9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.

7 And you, [1] be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it.”

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. [2]

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. [3] 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

26 He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth, [4]
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Questions

What did God say when he blessed Noah?
What will God demand an accounting for?
What did God set in the clouds?
How much of Noah's covenant do you think is applicable today?
When should punishment fit the crime? When should grace prevail?

Going Deeper

Observation

What will the relationship between man and animals look like?
What can mankind eat?
How must meat be prepared?
What will never happen again?
What did Ham see?

Interpretation

Is it sinful to be a meat eater?
How does draining the blood effect the meat?
If there are to be no God-given global disasters, can there be a man-made one?
Can God send local disasters?
What exactly was Ham's crime that warranted such a response?

Application

How might a vegetarian argue that God's design for mankind is vegetarianism? How might that be countered?
If the death penalty is mandated by God, how do we deal with people who are innocently killed by the judicial system?
How are we to be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth? Isn't it full already?
Can a person curse another and have it come true? Under what circumstances?
Are certain people groups living a cursed existence? How would you counter those who say the descendants of Ham are racially inferior?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:26:13 GMT

The story of Noah is one of the most abused stories in Toyland. We have reinvented it so that it is a story of a floating zoo. If you read the account it is no children's story. The wickedness that fills the earth leads to God issuing a decree to 'balance the ledger'. The pursuit of sin has its consequences. How is one man saved? What sets Noah apart? Compared with those around him he is righteous. God then chooses to show Noah and his family mercy. He leads them into a new life of grace. Are you inside the boat? Do you have compassion for those outside? You might do better than to send them a raven when it's too late.

^{Genesis 5}

³² After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Genesis 6

The Flood

¹ When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with ^[a] man forever, for he is mortal ^[b] ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

⁵ The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷ So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

⁹ This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress ^[c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. ^[d] ¹⁶ Make a roof for it and finish ^[e] the ark to within 18 inches ^[f] of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Genesis 7

¹ The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. ² Take with you seven ^[g] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, ³ and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. ⁴ Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

⁵ And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. ⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, ⁹ male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. ¹⁴ They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. ¹⁵ Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. ¹⁶ The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. ^[h] , ^[i] ²¹ Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. ²³ Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

²⁴ The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8

¹ But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. ² Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. ³ The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, ⁴ and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

⁶ After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark ⁷ and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. ¹² He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

¹³ By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁷ Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it."

¹⁸ So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. ¹⁹ All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. ²¹ The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though ^[j] every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

²² "As long as the earth endures,
       seedtime and harvest,
       cold and heat,
       summer and winter,
       day and night
       will never cease."

Questions

What did the Lord see?
What did the LORD decide to do?
How many days did the water flood the earth?
What did God say to Noah after the earth was dry?
How does God deal with the wickedness that is on the earth today?

Going Deeper

Observation

Whose account is this?
What are the dimensions of the ark?
What will God establish with Noah?
How many of each clean animal did Noah bring?
What does the LORD say after he smells the pleasing aroma?

Interpretation

What is this story about?
Why is Noah such a flat character in the story?
How are there clean animals without any system of sacrifice?
Was this flood, local, regional, all the known world, or global? What does the text demand?
How is God's grace evident?

Application

How does today's world compare in wickedness to Noah's world?
How is God acting with judgement and mercy today?
Are floods and droughts acts of God?
Who does God save today and why?
How does God maintain time, agriculture, and weather in our time?

Genesis 6: 1-4

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:14:47 GMT

Who on earth were the Nephilim? When I read of them I think of the Titans in Greek mythology. They seem like demigods who perform heroic deeds and smile a pearly-white smile. They have intrigued me since I was a youngster. Are the sons of God the line of Seth and the daughters of men the line of Cain? I don't think so. Did fallen angels confirm their fallen nature by copulating with humans? I don't know. I think that it is most likely that sons of God is a royal designation and daughters of men refers to common stock. It's just a guess from reading an NIV commentary. However, it would show how sin has progressed from individual, to family, to society at large. Sounds like something needs flooding.

Genesis 6: 1-4

¹ When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with ^[a] man forever, for he is mortal ^[b] ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Questions:

What happened to the number of men?
What were born to them?
Which ones did the sons of God marry?
Are the Nephilim a result of marriages between sons of God and daughters of men or just existant at the same time?
If the sons of God are rulers, how do they corrupt society? How do we do the same?

Going Deeper

Go on line and research:

Nephilim
right of the first night

How does research develop your thinking?

Genesis 4:17 - 5:32

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:06:25 GMT

I sometimes get a fish tank full of clear water at a camp and put it up in front of the campers. I take a little ink and drop it into the clear water. The campers can then see how the ink spreads and fills all the water. This is what we read about the spread of sin in these passages. Although people may live long, their lives still end in death. Although people may create all kinds of technological marvels, they still kill and are consumed with envy and rage. Do you see in your life both forces for good and for evil? How can you escape the pattern of sin and death as Enoch did?

Genesis 4

¹⁷ Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹ Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of ^[a] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,
       "Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
       wives of Lamech, hear my words.
       I have killed ^[b] a man for wounding me,
       a young man for injuring me.

²⁴ If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times."

²⁵ Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, ^[c] saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time men began to call on ^[d] the name of the LORD.

Genesis 5

From Adam to Noah

¹ This is the written account of Adam's line.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. ^[e] "

³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father ^[f] of Enosh. ⁷ And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸ Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.

⁹ When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.

¹² When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

²⁵ When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah ^[g] and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." ³⁰ After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹ Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.

³² After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Questions:

Which two sons of Adam are the focus here?
What terrible act does the seventh descendent of Enoch commit?
How does the seventh descendent of Seth live?
What is the repeated line describing the fate of mankind?
How do you reconcile the good and the evil in the world?

Going Deeper

Observation

What did Cain name after his son?
What two things did Jabal and Jubal create?
What did people begin to do when Enosh was born?
Why was Enoch no more?
How many years did Lamech live?

Interpretation

Where were the world's first cities located according to archaeologists?
Although archaeology finds examples of herding and music as far back as the fouth millenium B.C. why mightn't that help us with the text?
How did people 'call on the LORD'? What does that mean?
Where did Enoch go?
Are the numbers in the genealogies literural or figurative?

Application

Are you a better Christian if you believe the numbers to be literal or figurative? Why do Christians judge each other over these things?
How do you use archaeology to help you understand the Bible? Do you know historical context? Could you?
How can people call on the LORD and still descend in depravity to the point where God is grieved he created them? Have we grown closer or further from God in the west in the last 100 years?
Are you 'walking with God'?
How could you walk through this day 'with God'?

Genesis 4: 1-16

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:23:36 GMT

Sin keeps spreading. One act of disobedience in the garden affects the whole family. Now two brothers are in conflict. One brother is envious. He doesn't deal with the envy and the envy leads him to kill. He could have turned back from the envy. God gave him opportunity, but he refused to take responsibility. The first step to repentance is accepting responsibility. If we blame, if we whine, if we sidestep we lose the chance to come back from the abyss. All that is left for us is the land East of Eden. The barren land of the curse we now carry. Are you able to turn back from the abyss, or are you falling?

Genesis 4: 1-16

Cain and Abel

¹ Adam ^[a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. ^[b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth ^[c] a man." ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. ⁴ But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." ^[d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰ The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

¹³ Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."

¹⁵ But the LORD said to him, "Not so ^[e] ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, ^[f] east of Eden.

Questions

What are the occupations of Cain and Abel?
What do each of them bring to God as a sacrifice?
What is waiting for Cain if he does not do what is right?
What does Cain say to avoid God's accusations?
How have you moved past a point of no return? Was there a way back?

Going Deeper

Observation

How are the quantities of qualities of the brothers' offerings described?
What was Cain's reaction to God not acepting his sacrifice?
What will happen if Cain does right?
What does sin desire?
What will be hidden from Cain if he is driven out?

Interpretation

Is it the quality of the sacrifice or the LORD's acceptence that is emphasized?
How does God show grace and compassion to Cain before and after the murder?
Did Abel die and go to heaven?
If sin is pictured as a demon crouching at your front door, how do you react?
Where is the land of Nod?

Application

What portion of your possessions do you give to God?
How has God tried to prevent you from making a ruinous decision?
How has God shown grace in spite of your poor judgment?
What way back for you is there from the consequences of your poor choices?
How do you blame God for your own shortcomings?

Genesis 3: 8-24

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:12:20 GMT

It is such a relief that sin no longer exists. At least it doesn't exist for the majority. Every now and then sin will rear its head on a dessert menu, but that is about all. Evil also is a religious term that we do not need. When Bush created an 'Axis of Evil' it was just another sign that he was out of touch. Of course, we can still make mistakes as results of poor choices, but that doesn't really constitute anything warranting the name 'sin' or 'evil'. Without sin in view, we don't really need salvation from anything. The good news has been repackaged so that it adds to our already acceptable lives. Without sin we should all feel a lot better about ourselves and that is wonderful ... isn't it?

Genesis 3: 8-24

⁸And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool^[a] of the day, and the man and his wife^(A) hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"^[b] ¹⁰And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid,^(B) because I was naked, and I hid myself." ¹¹He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" ¹²The man said,^(C) "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." ¹³Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said,^(D) "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

¹⁴The LORD God said to the serpent,

   "Because you have done this,
   cursed are you above all livestock
   and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
   and^(E) dust you shall eat
   all the days of your life.
¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman,
   and between your offspring^[c] and^(F) her offspring;
^(G) he shall bruise your head,
   and you shall bruise his heel."

¹⁶To the woman he said,

   "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
   ^(H) in pain you shall bring forth children.
^(I) Your desire shall be for^[d] your husband,
   and he shall^(J) rule over you."

¹⁷And to Adam he said,

   "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
   and have eaten of the tree
^(K) of which I commanded you,
   'You shall not eat of it,'
^(L) cursed is the ground because of you;
   ^(M) in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
   and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹By the sweat of your face
   you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
   for out of it you were taken;
^(N) for you are dust,
   and^(O) to dust you shall return."

²⁰The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.^[e] ²¹And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

²²Then the LORD God said,^(P) "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand^(Q) and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" ²³therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden^(R) to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the^(S) cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Questions:

What did the man and his wife hear?
How does the man answer the question, "Have you eaten from teh tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
How does the woman respond when asked, "What is this you have done?"
What does God do for Adam and his wife in verse 21?
How has general sin, natural sin, and personal sin affected you? How has God been gracious?

Going Deeper

Observation

What was God doing in the garden in the cool of the day?
What was God's first question?
What two things are cursed?
What action describes the relationship between the serpent's offspring and the woman's?
What will increase for the woman?

Interpretation

Did God take a daily stroll in human form with the first humans?
Why would an omniscient God ask, "Where are you?"
Why are the ground and serpent cursed and the man and woman shown grace?
If crush and strike come from the same root, how does this challenge the popular interpretation that Genesis 3:15 foreshadows Christ's death on the cross?
If the childbearing pains are mainly emotional, what is your view of the woman's plight?

Application

Do you walk with God in a conversational fellowship?
If God asks, "Where are you?" what is your reply?
Who have you blamed? Why? What does it achieve?
When you suffer do you become blind to God's grace?
How can women still generally be ruled by men because of their strong desire for family?

Genesis 3: 1-7

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:13:38 GMT

Satan is a fascinating character. the word 'crafty' that describes him in this passage is shrewd and wily. He knows just what to say, just what to do. He has Eve recount the words that God has said, but she gets the words wrong. She implies that God has said that instant death will come to those who even touch the forbidden fruit. Satan tells the truth when he says that instant death will not come. Instead the sentence of death will hang over Adam and Eve, they will banished from the nutrient rich Tree of Life. They will die. What knowledge is worth giving up life to obtain? What are you dying to know? Could you imagine risking everything to find out?

Genesis 3: 1-7

The Fall of Man

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

² The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

⁴ "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Questions

What did the serpent say to the woman?
What did the woman reply?
What will happen if Adam and Eve eat the fruit according to the serpent?
How is the ordered creation of God broken here?
How have your actions caused disharmony in the home, workplace, or church?

Going Deeper

Observation

How is the serpent compared to other animals?
How many times are the words Satan and Devil used in the passage?
Which tree does the serpent suppose is forbidden?
What will the man and the woman know?
What did the man and the woman do after they ate the fruit? Why?

Interpretation

How did the ancients think of serpents?
Why do people assume the serpent is Satan?
Are Adam and Eve juveniles or adults?
Would humans have access to the forbidden tree in due course?
Why is a transition from nakedness to clothing highlighted?

Application

How are you tempted?
How have you failed?
How can you deal with your temptation?
Are juveniles innocent?
What roles do men and women play in your family?

Genesis 2: 4-25

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:44:35 GMT

Now that the heavens and the earth have been created as a temple for God to dwell in, what's next? God creates an inner sanctuary. God creates a beautiful place, a garden, where he can dwell in a similar sense to the sanctuary of the Holy of Holies. God fashions the garden from the chaotic land structure, irrigates it, and creates people to tend to it. The function of people is to preserve and serve in the garden of God. A chunk (the word means more than 'rib') is taken from Adam's side and a co-worker is formed to work alongside him in tending this sacred space. What a beautiful picture. How could we recreate the Garden of Eden in our own sphere of influence?

Genesis 2: 4-25

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- ⁵ and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth ^[a] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth ^[b] and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ but streams ^[c] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- ⁷ the LORD God formed the man ^[d] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

⁸ Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin ^[e] and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ^[f] ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

¹⁸ The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam ^[g] no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs ^[h] and closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib ^[i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said,
       "This is now bone of my bones
       and flesh of my flesh;
       she shall be called 'woman, ^[j] '
       for she was taken out of man."

²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

²⁵ The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Of what is this the account?
Who planted a garden in the east?
What are the names of the four rivers?
What is not good?
What is man's function in the garden of God?

Going Deeper

Observation

What descriptor is repeated for the particular plants and shrubs that the passage describes?
What two factors are missing for the production of those kinds of plants?
How does God provide labour and irrigation for his garden?
To what tree does mankind have access?
What does the man say about the woman?

Interpretation

What kinds of plants exist at the end of chapter one and where can they be found?
How does this chapter give men and women dignity and purpose?
To what end are the earth and the Garden of Eden made?
What is the relationship between the man and the woman?
Why are we told they are naked?

Application

What is the 21st century relationship of mankind and vegetation?
How do you need to rediscover the relationships of Eden?
Does it matter that we can not locate Eden geographically today?
Can innocence be rediscovered?
Why is the New Age religion so fond of images of Creation? How could a Christian dialogue with a New Ager who loves 'Creation'?

Genesis 2: 1-3

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:24:14 GMT

Is the word 'rested' the best translation? What about 'ceased'? Whatever the meaning there is a break from the previous six days. What we see is God has prepared his creation like a temple to be inhabited. Now he takes time to ascend the throne and take his place. The lights in the heavens are like the lights of lampstands. The earth is his footstool. We are to take a day, one day out of seven, where we cease going about the business of life. We are to sit with like-minded people in God's creation and we are to look on in awe and worship. Do you see the universe as God's temple? Do you walk in it appropriately?

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

What has happened before the seventh day? Give a summary.
What does God do on the seventh day?
Why would God rest on the seventh day?
Is one day of the week more holy than another?
What is the principle to be applied because of this passage?

Going Deeper

Take time to rest: 15 minutes and a cup of tea will suffice to get started.
Use rest time to think about what is or should be important to you.
See if you can enable someone else to rest.